Claire reached out and rubbed Melly's little head. "Why are you working here?"
"Grandpa Regan said Melly could be a little maid, and then I would get food." Melly spoke seriously.
Claire turned back to glance at Regan again.
Regan, who had always been mature and steady, looked somewhat flustered now. "Young Master... could she work at the Baronial Manor?"
Melly also looked at Claire expectantly with her big eyes. "Big Brother..."
Claire did not know whether to laugh or cry. Do you think I'm that coldhearted?
"One meal won't make a difference. Melly doesn't need to work either. Come play whenever you want."
"No!" Melly shook her head like a rattle drum. "Mom said I can't accept other people's kindness for nothing. Melly can support herself. Big Brother, look how clean I wiped the floor!"
"Fine." Claire pursed her lips and quietly told Regan, "Let her do less work. Just make it look like she's helping."
"Mm-hm." Regan nodded repeatedly.
"Um, um!" Melly raised her chubby little hand again.
"What is it?"
"Melly finished her work. Can I go play with Yuna?"
"Of course." Claire asked, "Did you tell your parents you came here?"
"Not yet..." Melly's voice was as quiet as a mosquito's buzz.
"Regan, make a trip and tell her parents she's here so they won't worry. Then bring Knight Captain Hant over while you're at it." Claire did not intend to make a personal trip to the barracks. It would be better to have Hant come directly.
He was a baron, after all. It was perfectly normal to have one of his subordinates come over.
"At once!" Regan placed his right hand over his heart and gave a slight bow.
After Regan left, Claire patted Melly's little head. "Go play with Yuna."
"But... Melly hasn't finished her work yet." Melly clutched her rag and looked at the unfinished section of floor.
"It's fine. You can come back and wipe it clean after you're done playing." Claire was no capitalist who exploited child labor.
Melly still hesitated, so Claire added, "Don't worry, I'll keep it from Regan. Go play."
"No!" Melly shook her head with determination. "Melly will finish her work before going to play!" She did not want to disappoint Grandpa Regan's trust. She had worked so hard to become a maid at the Baronial Manor; she could not leave a bad impression.
Claire was a little surprised, but he did not force her. "Then do your best. Once you finish wiping this area, you can go play with Yuna."
"Okay!" Melly encouraged herself.
Hant was somewhat puzzled as he rode over, unable to understand why the lord had summoned him in the middle of training.
Still, Hant immediately handed the training duties over to the three Apprentice Knight squad members, then rushed over without stopping.
Upon entering the sitting room, he saw a little girl sticking out her bottom and kicking her legs as she wiped the floor. Looking closer, he realized she was Kellan's younger sister, who had accompanied the lord to visit the barracks yesterday.
"Are you here to see Big Brother?" Melly asked with wide eyes.
"Yes, the lord summoned me."
"Big Brother is in the meeting room."
"Thank you!" Hant replied. Just as he was about to move forward, Melly called out to him again.
"Um... could you walk on tiptoe? Melly worked really hard to clean that area." Melly pleaded.
"Ah..." Hant scratched his head as he looked at the freshly wiped, gleaming floor. In the end, he simply took off his shoes, carried them, and walked over.
Melly sighed in relief beside him. If he had stepped on it directly, she would have had to wipe it all over again. Then who knew when she would get to play with Yuna?
When he reached the meeting room door, Hant nervously straightened his clothes. Only after making sure everything was in order did he raise his hand and knock.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Come in!" Claire's voice came from inside.
Hant carefully pushed open the meeting room door. The first thing he saw upon entering was Claire seated at the head of the table.
The lord seemed somewhat different from yesterday. He felt deeper somehow, more unfathomable.
Hant did not know that Claire had already advanced to the level of an Intermediate Mage.
"Greetings, my lord!" Hant gave a precise knight's salute.
"Sit." Claire pointed to a chair beside him.
Delighted, Hant hurried over and sat down. Being offered a seat meant he still held some weight in the lord's eyes.
Claire did not beat around the bush and directly pushed the book in front of Hant.
Hant glanced at it and saw the title written on its cover: "Battle Qi Breathing Circulation Method!"
"This is?" Hant had a faint guess.
"I developed this yesterday. Take a look and see whether it is useful." Claire claimed the Cultivation Method as his own. Otherwise, there was no way to explain where the book had come from. Besides, there would only be more strange things in the future, so he might as well establish himself as an omnipotent genius.
Hant reached out and took the book, wondering what he should say later so as not to embarrass the lord.
After all, Battle Aura had been thoroughly researched ever since its discovery. Even figures at the Sword Saint level might not be able to offer any groundbreaking suggestions, much less the lord, who had never cultivated Battle Aura.
But as the lord's loyal hound, even if it was complete nonsense, he would have to find a way to praise it to the skies!
With that thought in mind, Hant opened the book's cover. The cover felt excellent, smooth beneath his fingers.
Hant had only planned to skim through it, but after rapidly reading three or four pages, his body suddenly trembled as though he had been shocked by something. He flipped back to the first page and began reading it carefully.
The deeper he read, the greater Hant's shock became, until even his breathing became audible.
Th-this... this was an entirely new path! In the past, cultivating Battle Aura required relentlessly squeezing out one's potential. Only upon reaching one's limit and combining it with a Battle Aura Cultivation Method could one awaken Battle Aura.
Yet this book presented another route. First, one sensed the faint Battle Aura within one's body, then guided it according to the method described to gradually nurture it. Even after cultivating Battle Aura, one could continue circulating it along the routes described in the book, constantly expanding one's Battle Aura capacity and recovering Battle Aura more quickly.
That was the most astonishing part. Even without training to the brink of death, one could increase Battle Aura and improve one's physique. In Hant's understanding, such a Battle Aura circulation method simply did not exist!
Before he realized it, Hant had become completely immersed in the Cultivation Method described in the book. He even began guiding his Battle Aura through his body, oblivious to everything around him.
Claire picked up the drink on the table and took a light sip. It seemed that this foundational Cultivation Method he had traded for was extremely useful. Hant could not resist cultivating it on the spot.
He did not mind, though. When he had seen that spiritual power cultivation method last night, he had been in much the same state.
As Hant cultivated according to the method in the book, an astonishing aura gradually began to emanate from him. The fewer pages remained, the more frightening his aura became. Eventually, even Claire's drink on the table began to tremble slightly, ripples spreading across the surface.
After finishing the last page, Hant closed his eyes and began trying to circulate his Battle Aura through a complete cycle within his body.
One cycle, two cycles, three cycles...
Hant's aura grew stronger and stronger. At last, his eyes suddenly flew open, and the Battle Aura around him erupted like crashing waves. The chair beneath him shattered into wooden splinters that shot in every direction.
Claire's eyes flickered, but he remained reclining on the sofa without making any excessive movements. With only a light wave of his hand, a transparent Wind Shield appeared before him, blocking all the splinters outside.
Hant stared at his body in disbelief. Feeling the aura within him, he exclaimed excitedly, "I... I've broken through to become a Silver Knight!"
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